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A modular and highly visual approach to introductory astronomy

Astronomy: The Universe at a Glance takes students on a spectacular journey across the vast cosmos. The Universe at a Glance introduces the structure and nature of the universe while emphasizing both the latest scientific findings and the process of scientific discovery. This new book by trusted authors Eric Chaisson and Steve McMillan reimagines their classic texts in a modularly organized, visual approach to learning. Here, the essential ideas, concepts, and discoveries of contemporary astronomy are presented in 15 chapters, each chapter composed of richly illustrated, two-page spreads designed to visually engage and instruct students.

Complete with spectacular graphics and concise, compelling chapters, The Universeat a Glance packs an immense amount of awe-inspiring insights into a brief modular volume. Uniting engaging prose, fascinating details, and easy-to-follow Learning Outcomes, this accessible account of astronomy is flexible and fun, an ideal complement to a dynamic introductory course. The text is integrated with MasteringAstronomy to create an unrivalled learning suite for students and instructors.

Personalize Learning with MasteringAstronomy®

MasteringAstronomy from Pearson is the leading online homework, tutorial, and assessment system, designed to improve results by engaging students before, during, and after class with powerful content. Instructors ensure students arrive ready to learn by assigning educationally effective content before class, and encourage critical thinking and retention with in-class resources such as Learning Catalytics. Students can further master concepts after class through traditional and adaptive homework assignments that provide hints and answer-specific feedback. The Mastering gradebook records scores for all automatically graded assignments in one place, while diagnostic tools give instructors access to rich data to assess student understanding and misconceptions.

Mastering brings learning full circle by continuously adapting to each student and making learning more personal than ever–before, during, and after class.

Eric Chaisson holds a doctorate in astrophysics from Harvard University, where he spent 10 years on the faculty of Arts and Sciences. For more than two decades thereafter, he served on the senior science staff at the Space Telescope Science Institute and held various professorships at Johns Hopkins and Tufts universities. He is now back at Harvard, where he teaches and conducts research at the Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics. Eric has written 12 books on astronomy and has published nearly 200 scientific papers in professional journals.

Steve McMillan holds a bachelor’s and master’s degree in mathematics from Cambridge University and a doctorate in astronomy from Harvard University. He held postdoctoral positions at the University of Illinois and Northwestern University, where he continued his research in theoretical astrophysics, star clusters, and high-performance computing. Steve is currently Distinguished Professor of Physics at Drexel University and a frequent visiting researcher at Princeton’s Institute for Advanced Study and Leiden University. He has published more than 100 articles and scientific papers in professional journals.